title: Assessment of carcinogenic risk due to inhalation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in PM10 from an industrial city: a Korean case-study.
abstract: This study investigated the effects of meteorological conditions and spatial variations on the toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in airborne PM(10) in Ulsan, the largest industrial city in Korea. Daily PM(10) samples were collected on quartz microfiber filters using high volume samplers located in a downtown area, a residential area and an industrial area of Ulsan during spring and summer sampling periods. Sixteen individual PAHs were extracted into a mixture solution of dichloromethane and n-hexane (1:1, v/v) in an ultrasonic bath and were analyzed using a high performance liquid chromatography system with an ultra-violet detector (HPLC-UVD). The average total PAH concentrations from the three representative sampling sites of Ulsan ranged from 16.15 to 57.12 ng/m(3) in spring and from 11.11 to 34.56 ng/m(3) in summer. The toxicity equivalent concentrations (TEQs) of the PAHs in PM(10) of Ulsan ranged from 1.82 to 13.1 ng/m(3), with an average level of 4.17 ng/m(3). The highest TEQs were found in the downtown area, which had an average value of 6.30 ng/m(3) in spring and 5.52 ng/m(3) in summer. BaP and DahA were identified as the major carcinogenic PAHs that contributed to 34.8 and 59.4% of the total carcinogenic potency of PAHs in PM(10) in Ulsan. The identified TEQs were highly correlated (r(2) = 0.73-0.90, p<0.01) with the total PAH concentrations for each area. The TEQs showed a significant correlation (p < 0.01) with the concentration of air pollutants, including PM(10), PM(2.5) and NO(2).
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Ulsan, Daharo 102, Mugeo-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan 680-749, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Van-Tuan
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Vu
authors.forename: Byeong-Kyu
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ji-Tae
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chi-Hyeon
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ick-Hyun
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002273:Carcinogens; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002947:Cities; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004782:Environmental Health; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D002273:Carcinogens; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons